Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Scapegoat Review
The Scapegoat Review has just accepted two poems for publication! Both "Three loons perched" and "I tend to leave splinters" are brand new, shorter, more image/concept-based poems and part of a series I'm composing and compiling toward a full-length collection titled Syllables From Our Conversation. Let you know when the issue is officially released!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
KMUN Coastal Radio Interview This Friday!
I'm excited to invite everyone to listen on their radios or online to KMUN 91.9 fm or KTCB 89.5 fm this Friday (October 1) from 3-4pm (PST). To listen online, click here.
The radio show ARTS- Live and Local!, which hosts a variety of writers and musicians in 10 minute interview segments, has invited me on as a guest! I'm not sure the exact time slot but I'll be interviewed somewhere in that hour span. I'll likely read a short poem and answer questions from host Carol G. Newman and call in guests.
I'll try to get the word out about the next day's music and poetry event, Chasing the Sun Off the Edge- a 3-hour blend of poetry and music created by A. Molotkov, Regan Linde, David Crosse, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk, and I. This event will be held at Beach Books in Seaside, OR from 5-8pm, as part of their Art Walk. Please tune in to the interview and join us there, if you're on the coast!
The radio show ARTS- Live and Local!, which hosts a variety of writers and musicians in 10 minute interview segments, has invited me on as a guest! I'm not sure the exact time slot but I'll be interviewed somewhere in that hour span. I'll likely read a short poem and answer questions from host Carol G. Newman and call in guests.
I'll try to get the word out about the next day's music and poetry event, Chasing the Sun Off the Edge- a 3-hour blend of poetry and music created by A. Molotkov, Regan Linde, David Crosse, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk, and I. This event will be held at Beach Books in Seaside, OR from 5-8pm, as part of their Art Walk. Please tune in to the interview and join us there, if you're on the coast!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
LEVELER Poetry Journal
LEVELER Poetry Journal has just accepted for publication my long poem "Some Notes Beginning With Winter". It will include a section with editorial comments on how their process worked for the poem, allowing for a dialog between editor, author, and reader...
Monday, September 27, 2010
Rosebud acceptance
My new poem "Beneath the long shadows of crosses and crows" has just been accepted for publication by Rosebud. This poem brought our poetry reading yesterday at St Johns Booksellers to a close, with its final lines:
I want to write nothing,
so much nothing the entire audience
explodes in Ozark flowers.
I want to write nothing,
so much nothing the entire audience
explodes in Ozark flowers.
This Week's Poem
Stillborn Calf
There was a moment
human hands taught it fiery touch.
A moment of light.
With eyes like sea floor
glued in a milky blue haze,
up, staring up at us,
we might from our captive lives
consider the expression
boundless sky, freedom,
unhinged and carried down into us
in all its inevitable kicking
scratching weeping-
the birthing pains like a fear
of pure light
from the interconnectedness
of familiar darkness-
then like a rusted gate
swinging shut,
its opaque tongue rolling over and over
the same trembling lip,
perhaps tasting a nectar,
a hemlock,
one ecstatic chance of existence
drowned in the moon vineyards
like a temporary pause in love
consummated within the grinding
of iceberg and a light becoming itself
seen in a moment of beautiful fire
that rises through the blue sea haze
into a cobalt, teal, a sun
rising within its infant mew,
growing stronger into a shudder,
a song,
then a scythe for the Autumn harvest.
-published by Amarillo Bay, and part of my chapbook A Pure River
There was a moment
human hands taught it fiery touch.
A moment of light.
With eyes like sea floor
glued in a milky blue haze,
up, staring up at us,
we might from our captive lives
consider the expression
boundless sky, freedom,
unhinged and carried down into us
in all its inevitable kicking
scratching weeping-
the birthing pains like a fear
of pure light
from the interconnectedness
of familiar darkness-
then like a rusted gate
swinging shut,
its opaque tongue rolling over and over
the same trembling lip,
perhaps tasting a nectar,
a hemlock,
one ecstatic chance of existence
drowned in the moon vineyards
like a temporary pause in love
consummated within the grinding
of iceberg and a light becoming itself
seen in a moment of beautiful fire
that rises through the blue sea haze
into a cobalt, teal, a sun
rising within its infant mew,
growing stronger into a shudder,
a song,
then a scythe for the Autumn harvest.
-published by Amarillo Bay, and part of my chapbook A Pure River
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Review of A Pure River in Offcourse Literary Journal
Editor Ricardo Nirenberg has published a review of my debut chapbook, A Pure River, in the Summer 2010 issue of Offcourse Literary Journal. Read it here first!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Summer 2010 Third Wednesday
The Summer 2010 issue of Third Wednesday is now out! I have two poems in this issue, and it's my second time publishing with Third Wednesday, so I'd like to support them as much as possible...check them out!
This Week's Poem
Not Even Names
Nothing
left night’s sleepless wake
but forgetting
what is still being said
and an open mouth
expecting to be filled
and a homeless dog
pawing up earthen roots dark
yet no darker than morning’s,
haunting the borders
of a virgin cemetery
we may as well call a garden,
not even names
to lose oneself in.
-previously published by Literary Tonic
Nothing
left night’s sleepless wake
but forgetting
what is still being said
and an open mouth
expecting to be filled
and a homeless dog
pawing up earthen roots dark
yet no darker than morning’s,
haunting the borders
of a virgin cemetery
we may as well call a garden,
not even names
to lose oneself in.
-previously published by Literary Tonic
Friday, September 17, 2010
Show and Tell Gallery Podcast!
Monday's Show and Tell Gallery open mic at 3 Friends has included a podcast of the event on their website. It's broken into two sections for easier listening. Section two begins with my friends A. Molotkov and Leah Stenson, followed by my performance. Give it a listen at http://showandtellgallery.org.
Other Rooms Fall 2010
The Fall 2010 issue of Other Rooms is now available, which includes my poem "Tonight I have finally broken the spines"...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Houston Literary Review
The Houston Literary Review has accepted for publication two of my poems for their October 2010 issue! "Reykjavik"- based on observations in an Icelandic pub, and "A Strange Place"- a metaphorical poem about travel and what we bring or don't bring back with us.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
This Week's Poem
Rainy Season
Rain-pregnant, the unpierced palms
of maples cup halos,
little light tricks of sun
language deems halos.
Those nibbled by worms, moths,
dribble water down upon my forehead,
what my language names restoration.
We’re just outside Vienna in the hills,
christened hills because nearby
there are higher mountains.
We’re speaking of the future
to differentiate it from the past
and our hands are tightly locked
because the earth is slipping away.
-previously published by White Whale Review
Rain-pregnant, the unpierced palms
of maples cup halos,
little light tricks of sun
language deems halos.
Those nibbled by worms, moths,
dribble water down upon my forehead,
what my language names restoration.
We’re just outside Vienna in the hills,
christened hills because nearby
there are higher mountains.
We’re speaking of the future
to differentiate it from the past
and our hands are tightly locked
because the earth is slipping away.
-previously published by White Whale Review
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A Day at St Johns
Just returned from a fun time as part of the Saturday Art Walk in St Johns. Tola and I had a table outside St Johns Booksellers to promote our upcoming reading and our work and had a few interesting conversations with passersby and a few important people in the local poetry community. And what a beautiful day to spend outside!
Open Mic this Monday
So, two open mics in a row! I'll be reading at the open mic at Three Friends Coffeehouse (201 SE 12th St., PDX) on Monday, 9/13 from 7-9pm. They were on summer haitus for two months, so I look forward to performing there again.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Naugatuck River Review
Naugatuck River Review Summer 2010 is out now! I'm honored to have my poem "At Thirteen" in its pages alongside many wonderful poets!
Stonehenge Studios Open Mic
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
An Evening of Poetry and Music
Saturday 10/2/10 (5-8pm) at Beach Books in Seaside, OR: A poetry and musical experience featuring five local artists. Three Portland poets will weave their work into a tapestry with full musical accompaniment.
A. Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist. Although he has been writing fiction and poetry for over 25 years, his more recent involvement with other art forms allows him to approach the creative process from various angles, with individual parts contributing to a greater whole. Molotkov is the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections and the winner of the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Short Fiction Award for his short story “Round Trip”, which was nominated for a Pushcart. His fiction and poetry has appeared in or accepted by the Hawaii Pacific Review, Peralta Press, Acquillrelle, Gival Press, Epicenter, Suger Mule and elsewhere. His debut CD “Can You Stay Forever”, an ambitious project utilizing 15 musicians, has received glowing reviews. A. Molotkov is quickly becoming known in the Portland poetry community for his exceptional skills at oral presentation. In February 2010, Molotkov spearheaded a one-hour performance “Love Outlives Us” presented by the Show and Tell Gallery and repeated on KBOO in June.
www.amolotkov.com
John Sibley Williams is a poet and book publicist residing in Portland, OR. He has a previous MA in Writing and presently studies Book Publishing at Portland State University, where he serves as Acquisitions Manager of Ooligan Press and publicist for Three Muses Press. His poetry was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize, and his debut chapbook, A Pure River, is forthcoming from The Last Automat Press. Some of his over 100 previous or upcoming publications include: The Evansville Review, Ellipsis, Flint Hills Review, Euphony, Open Letters, Cadillac Cicatrix, Juked, The Journal, Hawaii Review, Cutthroat, The Furnace Review, Red Wheelbarrow, Aries, and River Oak Review.
www.TheArtOfRaining.com
Before landing in Portland, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk lived all over. She learned kickboxing in Turkey, faced-off with a rhino in Nepal, discussed the weather with Queen Elizabeth, and was chastised by Mother Theresa in India. Portland has been her home for ten years. For the last four, she has been collaborating with members of her writing group, The Guttery. Some of her readings have been published by The Oregon Literary Review and Show and Tell Gallery as well as featured on the site Love Outlives Us. She writes novels about what happens when the will of the individual and the collective muscle of a culture clash. Her latest novel, Only Ghosts, is about the changes to a village in Nepal during the democratic movement of 1990.
David Cooke was raised Catholic in Oakland, California, and now lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. His debut poem Edges won the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. His work appears in Flatmancrooked, Hunger Mountain, A River & Sound Review, and in performances at the Blackbird Wine Shop, Show and Tell Gallery, Stonehenge Studio, and KBOO’s Talking Earth. He is also known as The Lawn Guy throughout Portland and Lake Oswego for his lawn maintenance business. Much of his current work is included in his forthcoming chapbook, Discretion.
Ragon Linde is a musician specializing in eclectic jazz. He plays the guitar, drums, and bass. Ragon moved to Portland in 2006 from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he lived most of his life. While in Oklahoma, Ragon played in a wide range of musical groups over the last 35 years whose styles included big band, psychedelic jazz, heavy metal, acoustic folk, classical, and western swing. Much of his work has been recorded and his latest album of work titled My Own Private Jihad can be found on his MySpace site, www.myspace.com/RagonLindeMusic.
A. Molotkov is a writer, composer, filmmaker and visual artist. Although he has been writing fiction and poetry for over 25 years, his more recent involvement with other art forms allows him to approach the creative process from various angles, with individual parts contributing to a greater whole. Molotkov is the author of several novels, short story and poetry collections and the winner of the 2008 E. M. Koeppel Short Fiction Award for his short story “Round Trip”, which was nominated for a Pushcart. His fiction and poetry has appeared in or accepted by the Hawaii Pacific Review, Peralta Press, Acquillrelle, Gival Press, Epicenter, Suger Mule and elsewhere. His debut CD “Can You Stay Forever”, an ambitious project utilizing 15 musicians, has received glowing reviews. A. Molotkov is quickly becoming known in the Portland poetry community for his exceptional skills at oral presentation. In February 2010, Molotkov spearheaded a one-hour performance “Love Outlives Us” presented by the Show and Tell Gallery and repeated on KBOO in June.
www.amolotkov.com
John Sibley Williams is a poet and book publicist residing in Portland, OR. He has a previous MA in Writing and presently studies Book Publishing at Portland State University, where he serves as Acquisitions Manager of Ooligan Press and publicist for Three Muses Press. His poetry was nominated for the 2009 Pushcart Prize, and his debut chapbook, A Pure River, is forthcoming from The Last Automat Press. Some of his over 100 previous or upcoming publications include: The Evansville Review, Ellipsis, Flint Hills Review, Euphony, Open Letters, Cadillac Cicatrix, Juked, The Journal, Hawaii Review, Cutthroat, The Furnace Review, Red Wheelbarrow, Aries, and River Oak Review.
www.TheArtOfRaining.com
Before landing in Portland, Carrie-Ann Tkaczyk lived all over. She learned kickboxing in Turkey, faced-off with a rhino in Nepal, discussed the weather with Queen Elizabeth, and was chastised by Mother Theresa in India. Portland has been her home for ten years. For the last four, she has been collaborating with members of her writing group, The Guttery. Some of her readings have been published by The Oregon Literary Review and Show and Tell Gallery as well as featured on the site Love Outlives Us. She writes novels about what happens when the will of the individual and the collective muscle of a culture clash. Her latest novel, Only Ghosts, is about the changes to a village in Nepal during the democratic movement of 1990.
David Cooke was raised Catholic in Oakland, California, and now lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. His debut poem Edges won the Ruth Stone Poetry Prize and was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. His work appears in Flatmancrooked, Hunger Mountain, A River & Sound Review, and in performances at the Blackbird Wine Shop, Show and Tell Gallery, Stonehenge Studio, and KBOO’s Talking Earth. He is also known as The Lawn Guy throughout Portland and Lake Oswego for his lawn maintenance business. Much of his current work is included in his forthcoming chapbook, Discretion.
Ragon Linde is a musician specializing in eclectic jazz. He plays the guitar, drums, and bass. Ragon moved to Portland in 2006 from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he lived most of his life. While in Oklahoma, Ragon played in a wide range of musical groups over the last 35 years whose styles included big band, psychedelic jazz, heavy metal, acoustic folk, classical, and western swing. Much of his work has been recorded and his latest album of work titled My Own Private Jihad can be found on his MySpace site, www.myspace.com/RagonLindeMusic.
Monday, September 6, 2010
This Week's Poem
Gregor Samsa
And when metaphor exhausts of signifying the tangible?
Of transposing enigma upon dove, cloud,
hands and their wringing or their steeples?
Instead demanding through impotence
it denote nothing?
Bliss. Apocalypse. No, we’re merely crying over cobblestone
and walking nowhere, cradling fire and flowers.
No longer fire and flowers but a bored,
half-lit cigarette and a series of blossoms
that have readopted impermanence. Naked.
Objects alone.
And our fathers are suddenly not gods
and mother’s milk dried three decades ago,
leaving only her arms.
And we’re left suckling tirelessly at the sun
but burn our lips without tasting.
And dreams distance themselves
from the lovers dreaming them,
who are interpreting their days apart
as a sweater’s threads,
but left without language for each other
find nothing worth unraveling.
And that kiss sizzles off my cheek,
is cold as words seeking purpose,
and we upon waking remain ourselves
and the roaches, unglorified, are roaches
scurrying unseen beneath our bare feet.
-published in Other Rooms
And when metaphor exhausts of signifying the tangible?
Of transposing enigma upon dove, cloud,
hands and their wringing or their steeples?
Instead demanding through impotence
it denote nothing?
Bliss. Apocalypse. No, we’re merely crying over cobblestone
and walking nowhere, cradling fire and flowers.
No longer fire and flowers but a bored,
half-lit cigarette and a series of blossoms
that have readopted impermanence. Naked.
Objects alone.
And our fathers are suddenly not gods
and mother’s milk dried three decades ago,
leaving only her arms.
And we’re left suckling tirelessly at the sun
but burn our lips without tasting.
And dreams distance themselves
from the lovers dreaming them,
who are interpreting their days apart
as a sweater’s threads,
but left without language for each other
find nothing worth unraveling.
And that kiss sizzles off my cheek,
is cold as words seeking purpose,
and we upon waking remain ourselves
and the roaches, unglorified, are roaches
scurrying unseen beneath our bare feet.
-published in Other Rooms
A Pure River at St Johns Booksellers
My chapbook A Pure River is now available at St Johns Booksellers! The wonderful staff there, most notably Nena, placed it on the first shelf when you enter. How very exciting. So now you can find a copy in Powell's and St Johns!
20 Minutes in Portland anthology
My poem The Face Upon Which Faces Appear has been selected for and published in The Portland Review's special edition titled "20 Minutes in Portland", presently on shelves throughout the area. It's particularly special because the editor, Chris Cottrell, specifically chose local poets who are working hard for other poets, who are striving to keep the Portland literary community thriving, and it is an honor to be included in such an esteemed list...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A Pure River on Matador Radar
I've been corresponding with David Miller, Senior Editor of Matador Network- a wonderful creative travel website. He's included a brief mention of A Pure River on Matador Radar!
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